# Joel (given name)

Joel or Yoel is a male name derived from יוֹאֵל Standard Hebrew, Yoʾel, Tiberian Hebrew, or Yôʾēl, meaning "Yahu is god", "YHWH is God", or the modern translation "Yahweh is God". Joel as a given name appears in the Hebrew Bible.

## Joel as a given name
### Biblical figures

* Joel, Jewish Biblical prophet
* Joel (biblical figure), several minor figures in the Hebrew Bible

### Others

* Joel of Dotawo, Sudanese ruler
* Joel Achenbach (born 1960), American staff writer for The Washington Post and author
* Joel Acosta (born 1991), Argentine footballer
* Joel Amoroso (born 1998, Argentine footballer
* Joel Anderson (born 1960), California politician
* Joël Ayayi (born 2000), French basketball player
* Joel John Bailey (born 1980), Canadian soccer player
* Joel Conrad Bakan (born 1959), Canadian lawyer and writer
* Yoel Chehanovich (born 1993), Israeli footballer
* Joel Barbosa (born 1983), Argentine footballer
* Joel Barlow (1754–1812), American poet and politician
* Joel Barnett (1923–2014), British politician
* Joel Barr (1916–1998) American spy for the Soviet Union
* Joël Batteux (1943–2021), French politician
* Joel Beckett (born 1973), English actor
* Joel Beinin (born 1948), American historian of the Middle East
* Joel Benjamin (born 1964), American chess grandmaster
* Joel Berghult (born 1988), Swedish musician and YouTuber
* Joel Bomgar (born 1980), American businessman and politician
* Joel Bouagnon (born 1995), American football player
* Joël Bouchard (born 1974), Canadian ice hockey player
* Joel Bowden (born 1978), Australian rules footballer
* Joel Brand (1906–1964), Hungarian who had a prominent role in trying to save the Hungarian Jewish community
* Joel Breton, American game producer, DJ and entrepreneur
* Joel Brind, American scientist and anti-abortion activist
* Joel Brooks (born 1949), American actor
* Joel Brutus (born 1974), Haitian judoka
* Joel Carli (born 1986), Argentine retired footballer
* Joel Carpenter (1914–1965), American screenwriter
* Joel Carreño (born 1987), Dominican baseball player
* Joel Casamayor (born 1981), Cuban boxer
* Joel Chan (actor) (born 1976), Hong Kong actor and singer
* Joel Clinton (born 1981), Australian rugby footballer
* Joel Coen (born 1954), American director and producer
* Joel Connable (1973–2012), American news reporter, paramedic, and private pilot
* Joel Courtney (born 1996), American actor
* Joel Crawford (director), American story artist and film director
* Joel Crawford (politician) (1783–1858), American politician, soldier and lawyer
* Joel Crothers (1941–1985), American actor
* Joel Cummins (born 1975), American musician
* Joel DeLisa, American physiatrist
* Joel Dommett (born 1985), British comedian, actor and presenter
* Joel Dorn (1942–2007), American music producer and record label entrepreneur
* Joel Dublanko (born 1998), American football player
* Joel Edgerton (born 1974), Australian actor
* Joel Ekelöf, Swedish vocalist of the band Soen
* Joel Embiid (born 1994), Cameroonian basketball player
* Joel Engle (born 1968), American recording artist
* Joel Erhardt (1838–1909), Commissioner of Police of New York City
* Joel Eriksson (born 1998), Swedish racing driver
* Joel Fabiani (born 1936), American actor
* Joel Feinberg (1926–2004), American political and social philosopher
* Joel Fitzgibbon (born 1962), Australian politician
* Joel Freeland (born 1987), British basketball player
* Joël Fuchs (born 1989), Swiss basketball player
* Joel Fuhrman (born 1953), American physician and author
* Joel Garner (born 1952), West Indian cricketer
* Joel Garreau (born 1948), American journalist and author
* Joel Geist (born 1982), American actor
* Joel Gerber (1940–2022) Chief Judge of the United States Tax Court
* Joel Gertner (born 1975), American wrestling personality
* Joel Gion (born 1970 or 1971), American musician
* Joel Gistedt (born 1987), Swedish ice hockey player
* Joel Glazer (born 1967), part of the Glazer family
* Joel Glucksman (born 1949), American Olympic fencer
* Joel Godard (born 1938), American television announcer
* Joel Goldsmith (1957–2012), American composer of film, television music and video games
* Joel S. Goldsmith (1892–1964), American author, teacher, spiritual healer, mystic and founder of the Infinite Way movement
* Joel Gordon, Canadian actor and filmmaker
* Joel Gordon (American football), American football coach and former player
* Joel Greenberg (historian) (born 1946), English educational technology consultant and historian
* Joel Greenberg (politician) (born 1984), American politician and former Florida tax collector
* Joel Greenblatt (born 1957), American academic, hedge fund manager, investor, and writer
* Joel Gretsch (born 1963), American actor
* Joel Grey (born 1932), American actor
* Joel Hailey (born 1969), American musician
* Joel Hanrahan (born 1981), American baseball player
* Joel Chandler Harris (1848–1908), American journalist
* Joel Heath (born 1903), American football player
* Joel Hefley (born 1935), American politician
* Joel Heyman (born 1971), American voice actor
* Joel Higgins (born 1943), American actor and singer
* Joel Henry Hildebrand (1881–1983) American educator and a pioneer chemist
* Joel Hirschhorn (1937–2005), American songwriter
* Joel Hodgson (born 1960), American creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Joel Robinson, the character he plays on the show
* Joel Hoekstra (born 1970), American guitarist
* Joel Holmes (1821–1872), British soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Joel Horlen (1937–2022), American All Star baseball player
* Joel Houston (born 1979), Australian musician and songwriter, worship leader at the Hillsong Church
* Joel Hurt (1850–1926), American businessman and developer
* Joel Hyatt (born 1950), American businessman, attorney and politician
* Joel Isasi (born 1967), Cuban sprinter
* Joel Iyiegbuniwe (born 1995), American football player
* Joël Jeannot (born 1965), French Olympic wheelchair racer
* Joel Jones (born 1981), Puerto Rican basketball player
* Yoel Juárez (born 2002), Argentine footballer
* Joel Kaplan (born 1969), American political advisor
* Joel Kauffman (born 1985), American stock car racer
* Joel Kinnaman (born 1979), Swedish-American actor
* Joel Klein (born 1946), Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education
* Joel Kovel (1936–2018), American politician, academic, writer and eco-socialist
* Joel Kramer (born 1955), American basketball player
* Joel Kwiatkowski (born 1977), Canadian ice hockey player
* Joel Landau, American entrepreneur, founder of The Allure Group
* Joel Landau (rabbi), American rabbi
* Joel Lane (1963–2013), British author, poet, critic and anthology editor
* Joel Lanning (born 1994), American football player
* Joël Le Tac (1918–2005), member of the Free French Forces (FFF) during the Second World War
* Joël Le Theule (1930–1980), French politician
* Joel Lebowitz (born 1930), American mathematical physicist
* Joel S. Levine (born 1942), American planetary and atmospheric scientist
* Joel López Pissano (born 1997), Argentine footballer
* Joel Löwe (1760–1802), German Biblical commentator
* Joel Luani (born 1992), Australian rugby player
* Joel Lundqvist (born 1982), Swedish ice hockey player
* Joel Lynch (born 1987), British football player
* Joel Madden (born 1979), American musician, lead vocalist for Good Charlotte
* Joel Dawit Makonnen (born 1982), Ethiopian prince
* Joel Makower (born 1952), American entrepreneur, writer, and strategist
* Joel Antônio Martins (1931–2003), Brazilian footballer known as "Joel"
* Joël Matip (born 1991), Cameroonian footballer
* Joel McCormack, American computer scientist
* Joel McCrea (1905–1990), American actor
* Joel McHale (born 1971), American actor and host
* Joel McIlroy (born 1973), Australian actor
* Joel McIver (born 1971), British author
* Joel McNeely (born 1959), American music composer for movies and television
* Joël Mergui (born 1958), French Jewish official
* Joel Meyerowitz (born 1938), American photographer
* Joel Meyers, American sportscaster
* Joel David Moore (born 1977), American actor
* Joel Moses (1941–2022), Israel-born American computer scientist
* Joel Müller (1897–1895) German rabbi
* Joel Muñoz (born 1980), Panamanian basketball player
* Joel Murray (born 1963), American actor
* Joel Murray (basketball) (born 1999), American basketball player
* Joel Myers (born 1939), American businessman, founder, president and chairman of the board of AccuWeather, Inc.
* Joël Gustave Nana Ngongang (1982–2015), Cameroonian activist for LGBT human rights & HIV/AIDS in Africa
* Joel Oppenheimer (1930–1988) American poet
* Joel Osteen (1983), American author, pastor, and televangelist
* Joel Otto (1961), American ice hockey player
* Joel Palmer (1810–1881), American pioneer, author and politician
* Joel Parker (American football) (b. 1952), American football player
* Joel Parker (clergyman) (1799–1873), American Presbyterian clergyman
* Joel Parker (jurist) (1795–1875), American jurist from New Hampshire
* Joel Parker (politician) (1816–1888), American politician for the Democratic Party
* Joel Peralta (born 1976), Dominican baseball player
* Joel Perovuo (born 1985), Finnish football player
* Joel Pimentel de León (born 1999), American singer
* Joel Piñeiro (born 1978), American baseball player
* Joel Plaskett (born 1975), Canadian rock musician
* Joel Pohjanpalo (born 1995), Finnish football player
* Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779–1851), American physician, botanist and diplomat
* Joel Porter (born 1978), Australian football player
* Joël Prévost (1950–2024), French singer
* Joel Primack (born 1945), American professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics
* Joel Przybilla (born 1979), American basketball player
* Joel Robles (born 1990), Spanish football player
* Yoel Rodríguez (born 1988), Spanish footballer
* Joel Quarrington (born 1955), Canadian bass player and soloist
* Joel Quenneville (born 1958), Canadian former ice hockey defenceman, and coach of the NHL's Florida Panthers
* Joel Reddy (born 1985), Australian Rugby League player
* Joel Rifkin (born 1959), American serial killer
* Joel Augustus Rogers (1880–1966), Jamaican-American author, journalist and historian
* Yoel Romero (born 1977), Cuban wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter
* Joel Rosenberg (1954–2011), Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author
* Joel C. Rosenberg (born 1967), American author and communications strategist
* Joel Ross, American tennis player
* Joel Ross (vibraphonist), American jazz vibraphonist
* Joel Roth, American rabbi in the Rabbinical Assembly
* Joel Sacks (born 1989), Argentine footballer
* Joel Salatin (born 1975), American farmer, lecturer, and author
* Yoel Moshe Salomon (1838–1912), Ottoman newspaper publisher and co-founder of towns
* Joel Santana (born 1948), Brazilian manager and former football player
* Joel Schumacher (1939–2020) American director and producer
* Joel Sclavi (born 1994), Argentine rugby union player
* Joel Selwood (born 1988), Australian Rules footballer
* Joel Shapiro (born 1941), American sculptor
* Joel Shatzky (1943–2020), American writer and literary professor
* Joel Shepherd (born 1974), Australian science fiction author
* Joel Sherman (born 1962), American Scrabble expert
* Joel ibn Shu'aib, 15th-century rabbi from Aragon
* Joel Siegel (1943-2007), American film critic
* Joel Silbersher (born 1971), musician from Australia
* Joel Silver (born 1952), American film producer
* Joel Sirkis (1561–1640), Central European rabbi
* Joel Skinner (born 1961), American baseball player and coach
* Joel Sonnenberg (born 1977), Christian motivational speaker
* Joel Soriano (born 2000), American basketball player
* Joel Elias Spingarn (1875–1939), American civil rights activist
* Yoel Sela (born 1951), Israeli Olympic competitive sailor
* Joel Spitzer (born 1957), American smoking cessation educator
* Joel Spolsky (born 1965), American software engineer
* Joel Stallworth (born 1984), American sprinter
* Joel Stebbins (1878–1966), American astronomer who pioneered photoelectric photometry in astronomy
* Joel Stein (born 1971), American journalist
* Joel Steinberg (born 1941), New York criminal defense attorney
* Joel Stelly (born 1984), American football player for the Chicago, IL Bears
* Joel Sternfeld (born 1944), American photographer
* Joel Stransky (born 1967), South African rugby union footballer
* Joel Stroetzel (born 1980), American guitarist from the Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage
* Joel Sturm (born 2001), German racing driver
* Joel Surnow (born 1955), American writer and producer
* Joel Sweeney (1810–1860), American musician who popularized the banjo
* Joel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), Hungarian Hasidic Rabbi and Talmudic scholar
* Joel Thompson (politician) (1760–1843), United States Representative from New York
* Joel Thompson (rugby league) (born 1988), Australian rugby league footballer
* Joel Tobeck (born 1971), New Zealand film and television actor
* Joel Tudor (born 1976), professional surfer from San Diego, California
* Joel Turner (musician) (born 1987), Australian musician
* Joel Veitch (born 1974), English web animator and member of the B3ta collective
* Joel Vital (born 1987), Portuguese footballer known as Joel
* Joël Veltman (born 1992), Dutch footballer
* Joël Voordewind (born 1965), Dutch politician
* Joel Ward (footballer) (born 1989), English footballer
* Joel Ward (ice hockey) (born 1980), ice hockey player
* Joel Ward (magician) (born 1983), magician
* Joel N. Ward (born 1959), foreign currency trader
* Joel Waterman (born 1996), Canadian soccer player
* Joel Wiener (born 1948/49), American billionaire real estate developer and landlord
* Joel Wilson (American football) (born 2000), American football player
* Joel Wilson (rugby) (born 1977), Australian rugby player
* Joel Wilson (umpire) (born 1966), Trinidadian cricket umpire
* Joel Yanofsky (1955–2020), Canadian novelist and literary columnist
* Joel Youngblood (born 1951), American Major League baseball player
* Joel Zifkin (born 1954), Canadian musician and songwriter from Montreal, QC
* Joel Zimmerman (born 1981), Canadian progressive house and electro house DJ better known as deadmau5
* Joel Zumaya (born 1984), American Major League Baseball relief pitcher
* Joel Zwick (born 1942), American director of movies, theatre, and television shows

## Fictional characters

* Joel Barish, protagonist of the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, portrayed by Jim Carrey
* Joel Fleischman M.D., central character of the TV series Northern Exposure
* Joel Goodson, protagonist of the film Risky Business, portrayed by Tom Cruise
* Joel Hammond, a main character in Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet
* Joel Miller, protagonist of The Last of Us video game
* Joel Miller, kid who drinks from the firehose in UHF (film)
* Joel Robinson, in the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000